Philosophy is Plato and Transcending Boundaries
Emerson’s Transcendentalism, Universal Wisdom and Spiritual Truth
Sep 4, 2009
Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great American thinker who coined his philosophy “transcendentalism”, has been greatly influenced by the idealists, in particular by the Greek Philosopher Plato. Emerson claims that everyone is in his “debt for wisdom”, and that “Plato is philosophy, and philosophy, Plato”.
Plato’s Importance in History and Intellectual Thought
According to Emerson, the most important thinkers and intellectuals in history have either directly borrowed or have been influenced by the Greek philosopher Plato. He mentions, among many others, St. Augustine, who was inspired by Plato’s philosophy to shape a new and solid Christian view and belief system, Newton, one of the founding fathers of modern science, and Goethe, one the greatest writers, poets and intellectuals of the German culture who himself has been monumental in influencing many other writers and intellectuals.
Religious thought and philosophy have also felt the presence of Plato. Emerson believes that it is his “broad humanity” that manages to transcend both time and place, meaning that his views and ideas are "valid" everywhere and anytime.
Dialectics and Reaching for Absolute Truth through Logical Thinking
Plato also marks the “arrival of accuracy and intelligence”. His rendering of the Socratic method of dialectics, the “science of all sciences”, has sharpened the mind and has helped the intellect to discern the true from the false, via the method of asking rigorous questions about oneself and others to attain infallible truth.
However, one of Plato’s most striking points of view is the contemplation of the “divine essence”. This is what Emerson calls “super-essential” which is the ineffable and inexplicable and cannot be “numbered, known or named”, as such, defying the regular limits of entity and non-entity.
Providing the Tools for Understanding and the Importance of Education
In addition, Plato realized and recognized the role and value of culture and stressed the importance of education and learning. In fact, education becomes the hope for every human being to excel and to strive for wisdom.
Nonetheless, education could only serve as an instrument for the quest for truth. Virtue and wisdom cannot be taught and it is not something that is related to the body or to love, but it is through God only that one can glimpse the truth, according to Emerson’s analysis.
It is obvious that Emerson deems Plato as his and history’s greatest teacher. Nobody, he claims, can think without him and his writings have influenced “every school of thought, every church and every poet”, ranging across various disciplines, such as logic, arithmetic, morals to practical and spiritual wisdom.
Sources:
- Emerson, Ralph Waldo. On Plato’s Universal Wisdom. The Great Thinkers on Plato. Edited and Selected by Barry Gross. G. P. Putnam’s Sons: New York, 1968.
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